Brighter Mansfield

Our charity’s main objective is raising aspirations and promoting opportunities to improve people's lives within Mansfield and District. We do this by providing a range of activities and services in our 5 key areas of work:

~ Health & Wellbeing ~
We provide, alongside our partners, a number of services that improve the mental and physical health of participants including a cancer support group, physical exercise sessions, counselling sessions and a number of other services which directly impact the health and wellbeing of individuals. With funding in this period from The National Lottery and local project Oar Blimey we have also been able to increase our support of those living with Dementia within our cognitive stimulation therapy (COGS) session as well as our remembering to be kind to your mind and carers support sessions.

~ Education, Skills & Training ~
We provide a number of opportunities for members of the community to learn new skills in not only formal training sessions but also informal learning that really meets the needs of people. Our current offer, delivered in partnership with a
number of local providers, includes craft sessions and general employment skills training delivered alongside our volunteering programmes. We also include informal and targeted training sessions within all group activities covering
subjects such as dealing with grief, healthy relationships, disability awareness and more. We have been fortunate this year to receive funding from the Cadent Centres for Warmth project which has enabled us to provide education around
energy efficiency, carbon monoxide and priority services registration, not only to users of the community centre and our services but to 100s of people around Mansfield and district in community outreach sessions.

~ Support & Empowerment ~
Within our safe, non-judgmental and people focussed services, we specialise in working using an empowerment model of developing the confidence, understanding and skills of our community so that they are able to make informed
decisions and take action for themselves. This part of our work is what makes a difference to people’s self belief and self esteem and allows them to begin to trust their own judgement and create their own healthy boundaries and goals
going forward. Many people within Mansfield & District have been disempowered by life experiences and circumstances but when people believe in them and encourage them to believe in themselves they can do great things.

~ Social & Community Connections ~
We offer a number of opportunities for people to come together in a social setting to make connections with their community and other people within it. We currently hold weekly coffee and chat sessions as well as weekly social
craft groups - both with the aim of reducing isolation and making people feel like they belong to part of a bigger community. We put on community events throughout the year to encourage wider participation and to give opportunities
for coming together to members of the Mansfield and District community. We consider our biggest successes not to be the number of people coming into our own services but those that have taken their first steps here at the centre and then been supported and empowered to go on to do other things outside of the centre that they would never have had the confidence to do before.

~ Influencing & Shaping Services ~
As a former Neighbourhood Management Team, and from our wealth of experience in the voluntary sector (with specialisms in education & childcare, health and empowerment and community development) we understand the
importance of influencing and shaping change within communities and the structures set up within them. Although we are excellent at being reactive to the hardships and problems faced by our community and providing opportunities to improve the lives of those facing them, we strive wherever possible to influence greater social change within our areas to prevent these hardships. We sit on a number of strategic boards and have developed a number of stakeholder meetings of our own to try and change the way public sector departments, as well as other charities, and communities themselves,
operate to give people the best chance possible of improving their lives

By empowering people to improve their lives in the above areas we help to encourage them to be more active in their local and wider communities. Mental and physical health is greatly improved and people develop the skills and knowledge they need to live fulfilled lives